ARTISTS TALKING

# 76 [26 October 2007]

A few final thoughts

This is going to be my last post on this blog. Thanks to everyone who has made my residency here possible, in particular Brian Wallace, Red Gate’s director. Thanks Brian, it has been a great experience.

China is changing so much and everyone is talking about China. In the West we tend to talk about China from a superior point of view in an attempt to rationalize what most see as a threat. I feel privileged to have spent this time here, seeing things from a slightly different angle but always, of course, as an outsider. The experience highlights how important it is to differentiate between official representatives of nations [governments] and the people themselves.

# 75 [26 October 2007]

Cathy and Garry made a great find the other day. Through serendipity they discovered an artists’ 'village’ of 2000 out to the east of Beijing [Bei Gao and Caochangdi are to the north east]. There was also a huge exhibition space called Song Zhuang Art Centre. They found the work of one artist Wang Jinsong here. His work is featured on one of the t-shirts that Cathy photographed for her exhibition. One of his works depicts 100 photographs of the Chinese character for ‘demolition [of a building]’ [see image] that is sprayed on buildings about to be demolished. With so much demolition taking place in Beijing, this character has a sense of great foreboding for an area. I know Cathy is going to talk more about their visit so check her blog on this site for more info [Cathy Busby].

Oh and I see Frieze’s Jorg Heiser has been here and done a recent city report on China.

http://www.frieze.com/comment/article/china/

# 74 [24 October 2007]

And just a few more

# 73 [24 October 2007]

Some modes of transport in Beijing

# 72 [24 October 2007]

The Dalai Lama

There has been a bit of hullabaloo recently that I have not mentioned. The Chinese Government was furious about the US giving the Dalai Lama a congressional medal. Here in Beijing the English tv channel CCTV9 reported the event as one-sidedly as any of the Chinese channels. Here are a few notes taken from the report:

- For the Chinese Government, the Dalai Lama represents a ‘political issue’ not a spiritual or cultural one or one about human rights.
- The issue is part of internal affairs and other nations are advised not to meddle.
- The Dalai Lama wants to retain feudalism in Tibet, whereas under China’s rule Tibet now sees rapid development.
- The new railway has had a profound impact that is not harming the environment.
- Extensive rights of autonomy are granted to Tibet. The Dalai Lama does not admit this.
- He is good at persuading Westerners but he cannot ‘fool’ the Chinese or Tibetans.
- The Dalai Lama is requested to abandon his ‘political’ stand.

There is of course no footage of the Dalai Lama so from this report no one can judge for themselves.

17th Communist Party Congress

The 17th Communist Party congress also took place last week. Although it rather seemed like another load of propaganda [‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ was a phrase heard repeatedly], the congress was reported in detail with various grass roots stories that made a lot of sense. There seems to be a real concern for equality according to the Marxist tradition. There were several reports from the countryside about party members [commonly village elders] implementing party policy at every level – ie making sure everyone in poor villages in particular, had enough food, medical assistance, jobs, education etc. In these stories the village elders happened to be incredibly committed women.

I also noted that most members of the new Communist Party of China [CPC} central committee members were ethnic Han, with backgrounds in engineering. All were men – and interestingly gender is included in the descriptive blurb about each member. They were all of a vintage that meant they joined the party around the mid 60s, just before the Cultural Revolution. I wonder what parts they played during that period.

I must say from an outsider’s point of view people on the street display a general sense of contentment. There is little if no aggression. People seem gentle with each other as well and there being a general feeling of support and understanding. While the Chinese language can sound very sharp and gutteral at times, arguments are rarely occurring. When I conduct the interviews in the park, people come up to each other and peer over shoulders [seriously invading each others’ space we Westerners would call it] and contribute comments. No one minds and in fact many seem grateful for the input and discussions often follow. At first I thought people knew each other but this is not the case. Nobody actually knows each other but all are respectful and interested.

# 71 [21 October 2007]

Can’t seem to stop writing this blog tonight.... We are having a farewell bbq come show-and-tell night at Bei Gao on Tuesday 23rd. Quite a number of us are coming to the end of our residencies at the end of the month, so this is a night for us all to get together. We have decided to show some work in one of the empty studios.

I have found it incredibly useful keeping this blog – more useful than I expected. It takes quite a bit of time and effort, but is a great way of keeping an eye on how things are developing – not to mention keeping things organised.

# 70 [21 October 2007]

and a few more.

No image but Koh San Keum's work at C5Art, Sanlitun is really worth a look [Korean Project].

# 69 [21 October 2007]

Some interesting artworks

# 68 [21 October 2007]

Translations from Kelly

I have the translations of the Tuanjiehu Park interviews back from Kelly, which is great news. It is interesting reading indeed. Here is an example of one -

1. What do cricket and cicada songs mean to you?

It means summer. In the hot and tiring summer, their singing makes people feel peaceful.

2. Have you ever had a cricket as a pet? Or do you know any friends or family who have owned crickets? If so, can you tell me about it.

When I was young I raised crickets. Some can sing, some can’t. I forget from which part of their body is how we can tell. I used to catch cicadas pupae in small holes under the tree. Then put it in a box made of window screen. After they lose their ecdysis, some can sing. Moreover, their body was light green, which is very interesting.

3. Do you think there is a connection between these insect songs and Chinese music?

Yes, there should exist some connections between them. There are some poems about cicadas in Chinese poetry. Here is a poem written by Yu Shinan, a poet from the Tang Dynasty.

The Cicada by Yu Shinan:
Drunk with fresh dew, your trill will flow
From 'mid the sparse parasol trees.
Rising high, far your voice will go,
Not on the wings of autumn breeze

# 67 [21 October 2007]

Morning Market

Have taken some 200 images of the morning market outside the flat. These can form a kind of animation that I am fond of doing in Director. I take the photos using a stills camera and tripod. Cross-fading the static images in Director creates the effect of slowing life down while highlighting the mechanics of the moving image, and is somehow more interesting than using straightforward video footage.